June: funding opportunities & competitions
- arrantheatreandart
- 2 days ago
- 4 min read
Power of Music FundGrants of up to £2,000 to local organisations that use music making to support people living with dementia and their carers. The funding can be used to support any type of ensemble including choirs, drumming circles or informal groups. Deadline: 16 June. More info here
RSA William Littlejohn Award Grants of up to £2000 for Excellence and Innovation in Water-based Media, funded by The William Littlejohn Bequest and administered by the Royal Scottish Academy. Deadline: 22 June. More info here
RSA Blackadder Houston Mid-Career Travel AwardGrants of up to £5,000 to enable a committed fine art painter to carry out the research, development and production of a new body of work through a dedicated period of international travel. Painters may use the funds to take a trip to any location outside the UK. Deadline: 22 June. More info here
QEST and Heritage Crafts Sustainability Award
Recognises craftspeople across the UK who have taken significant steps to reduce their environmental impact and improve the sustainability of their craft practices. Anyone can nominate a craftsperson or micro-business, including self-nominations, for the QEST and Heritage Crafts Sustainability Award. Each winner will receive a £1,000 prize and an invitation to attend a prestigious awards ceremony hosted by Heritage Crafts. Deadline: Tuesday 1 July. More info here.
Naturesave Trust
Charities, social enterprises, community groups, voluntary organisations, small grassroots groups and businesses who are working to connect their communities to nature can apply now for a grant of up to £5,000. The funding is intended to encourage nature connection initiatives within the local community, such as:
Arts and cultural activities.
Community gardening.
Green gyms.
Eco anxiety and mental health.
Training a community with green skills.
Conservation volunteering.
Urban nature programmes.
Social prescribing.
Access to nature.
Community wildlife surveys.
Nature mindfulness.
Deadline: 15 July. More info here.
Weir Charitable Trust
Grants of up to £25,000 to small charities and community groups across Scotland with an annual income of less than £150,000 to deliver projects and activities that improve the quality of life for local communities. Including for
Culture - Supporting the heritage - tangible or otherwise - of Scotland, through projects that encourage participation in and preservation of Scotland's distinctive culture.
Deadline: 15 August. More info here.
Aesthetica Creative Writing Award
Open to Poetry and Short Fiction submissions on any theme, however, they are particularly interested in works that reflect upon our ever changing world. The winners in each category will receive a £2,500 cash prize, with a total prize fund of £5,000. Additionally, selected entries will be published in the Aesthetica Creative Writing Annual, providing further exposure for entrants. Deadline: 31 August. More info here.
The Cruach Trust
Grants of up to £2,000 are available to small Scottish charitable organisations to support environmental, community and music projects. Applications are considered once a year and the next deadline for applications is 12 September 2025. Find out more here.
Michael Tippett Musical Foundation
Grants of between £500 and £3,000 for groups across the UK to support the following objectives:
To award grants to support the development of group music-making especially involving young people, with composing central to the project.
To support the performance or recording of works by Michael Tippet.
Deadline: 30 Sept. More info here.
Maker Relief Fund
The Maker Relief Fund is offering grants to UK-based professional craftspeople facing financial hardship. Grants of £1,000 will be awarded to 50 eligible applicants. Deadline: October 2025. More info here.
Cultural Bridge Fund
A unique investment programme between the UK arts councils and leading German cultural institutions that supports the development of cross-border partnerships. The Fund is open to all arts and cultural organisations with proven expertise in socially engaged/participatory practice. Partnerships must be bi-lateral, including at least one German partner and one UK partner, from any one of the four nations: England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales.
Two tiers of funding are available for activity that starts from 1 April 2026 and is completed by 31 March 2027:
Tier 1 - Practice exchange and development of new partnerships - supports the development of brand new partnerships between arts and cultural organisations in the UK and Germany. Grants of between £5,000 and £10,000 per partnership.
Tier 2 - Co-development and project delivery for established partnerships - supports further development of partnerships, where organisations already have experience of working together. Grants of up to £30,000 per partnership.
Organisations who are interested in applying for Tier 1 funding can complete the 'New Partner' interest form which will provide access to the details of other potential partner arts organisations in the UK or Germany. Once granted access, groups may then research and reach out to any of the organisations whose work is of interest to them.
The deadline to submit this form is 1 September 2025.
Further information about the Cultural Bridge Fund will be provided during two English language information sessions scheduled to be held on:
Applications will be accepted from 1 October to 12 November 2025. More info here.
Music for All Community Project Funding Programme
Grants are available to community groups, schools and individuals under a number of different categories, each with their own criteria and award amounts. More info here.
BFI National Lottery Creative Challenge Fund
Grants between £12,000 and £150,000 for funding which aims to support projects in feature film and narrative immersive media, including narrative, documentary and animation. The fund is designed to address challenges within the screen industry such as underrepresentation of certain genres, lack of early career producer opportunities and limited support for scalable projects with broad audience potential. Applications are accepted on a rolling basis but must be submitted at least 16 weeks before the planned start of activity. All funded work must be completed by 31 March 2026. More info here.
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